Slaying victim's daughter: Imprisoned man should be released

March 08, 2018 03:51 PM

SIKESTON, Mo. (AP) — The daughter of a Missouri woman who was fatally shot in 2000 says she believes the man convicted of the killing is innocent.

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Crystal King said she supports David Robinson's efforts to be freed, the Southeast Missourian reported . Robinson, 49, is awaiting a state Supreme Court decision after a special master appointed to review the case ruled last month that his murder conviction in the death of Sheila Box should be tossed out.

King was 17 years old and living in another state when her mother was killed. She is now 36, the same age her mother was when she died.

No physical evidence tied Robinson to Box's killing. Two witnesses connected Robinson to the crime, but they have since recanted. Another Sikeston man, Romanze Mosby, confessed on tape in 2004 that he was the real killer. Mosby, who killed himself in 2009, never signed an affidavit confirming his confession, and judges refused to allow it as evidence.

"I want to lend my support to David Robinson, and I think he's innocent, and I think Romanze Mosby was the killer and that it was probably a robbery gone bad," King said.

Box was shot to death in her SUV after leaving the Sikeston bar she and her fiancee owned with $300 in cash and checks.

King said the case has been difficult to hear about.

"It's opened up a lot of old wounds, things I'd thought I'd dealt with and buried," King said. "I can't say there will ever be justice for this, but it needs to be rectified; he needs to be released. It's just sad all the way around for everyone involved. There are no winners. A great disservice has been done to him and his family."

The special master, Judge Darrell Missey, cited "clear and convincing evidence" that Robinson "is actually innocent of that crime." He also criticized the investigator in the slaying, calling him the least credible witness in the case.